World Birding Hotspots - Costa Rica

My Birding Hotspots series is perfect for the casual birdwatcher, or someone wanting an idea of what species can be found at certain locations.
I hope I get most of the species names correct, if there is anything wrong please drop a comment below.
In Nov 2022 we took a 9 day holiday to Costa Rica. We stayed at 4 different locations. San Jose, Tortuguero, Salve Verde and Arenal Volcano.
At each location we will see what species we can find. Note this was not a birding specific trip, so to use the early mornings to go exploring most days, to photograph the wildlife.

[@CooCooCachootje]

Thank you for this beautiful video. It is both helpful and inspiring for my upcoming trip.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you, you are my target audience, someone wanting inspiration on what they can see at a destination. Have an amazing trip

[@CynthiaCarlsonPhotography]

Spectacular video! At the end you mentioned you only did birding in your spare time--that is my lot with my family. It's so good to see you still got great looks at amazing birds. I can't wait to look at more of your quality videos!

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you so much, I have mainly videos in the Australian regions, but have a few more planned for overseas destinations. My spare time was mainly 2-3 hours each morning before we went and did our daily activities.

[@journeywithdavidh]

@12:56 Thank you for labelling all the birds. I’ve been calling Passerini’s Tanager, “the Thinkpad bird”.

[@RogerMacKertich]

I try real hard to correct name all the birds. Sometimes I get it wrong, but it is worth the effort

[@darkseid1757]

Wonderful video!! The wife and I stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge back in January and were able to photograph a fantastic number of birds including the yellow-throated toucan, emerald tanager, collared aracari, red-legged honey creeper and dozens more and even saw a juvenile yellow eyelash viper resting on a palm.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you, it is such a fabulous place to visits

[@abhineetsingh2072]

😊❤😂

[@ficuswildlifetours]

A very enjoyable composition! Great images and videos as well - what equipment do you use? I was in Costa Rica in April 2023 and was stunned with the incredible biodiversity on offer there. It was great to relive some of that in your video;

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you glad you enjoyed it. It really is an amazing country, hoping to get back there sometime.

[@luishernandezocampocostari1260]

Pura Vida amigo que bueno que disfruto y execelente fotos bendiciones

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you so much

[@raygiemza3690]

Outstanding photos and video work! Terrific itinerary and many thanks for sharing your adventure!

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you so much, it was a lot of fun to film and photograph

[@jillbainbridge6747]

We just returned from Costa Rica on a Nat Hab trip. With our guide we saw 181 species of birds. My husband is still doing post processing on the best of 2000 photos. Your photos and videos were excellent. Thanks.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Fantastic, that is a good amount of birds. We didn’t have a guide for most of the trip (only for 2 hours at La Selva), I imagine they made it a lot easier to find birds.

[@diegoelizondo6869]

Please try to find a place called cocorocas you will be surprised. A well know place of local birder's

[@Bengo27]

​@@diegoelizondo6869 where is this place located?

[@RogerZoul]

Thank you for making this video. It was very informative.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Glad you enjoyed it, hopefully inspires you to visit

[@wildslowscape]

Fantastic video!! Beautiful birds and great photos. Thanks for sharing

[@RogerMacKertich]

Many thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun putting together.

[@aussiebirdboy12]

Wonderful video Roger, videos and photos were crystal clear, well edited too 👌

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it

[@iangibson5996]

Always enjoy your videos. Great photography and interesting commentary..Cheers from the Sunshine Coast

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you! Hopefully soon I’ll come back to Qld and do some photography up there.

[@christinejones418]

That was a great video, I have seen a few of the species shown on my travels but would like to see a lot more. Costa Rica is definately on my bucket list!

[@RogerMacKertich]

Glad you enjoyed it! Costa Rica is a place any bird lover should get to.

[@eleanorward5275]

Hi Roger, What a great video and enticement to visit Costa Rica. Also interesting that you organised your own tour and managed to spot so many beautiful birds and animals. Thanks for the experience

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you. Yes I went with a couple of non-birders so couldn’t do a dedicated birding tour. If I did I would have probably seen at least twice as many species.

[@luckynaturerelaxationin8k]

Wow ❤

[@RogerMacKertich]

Glad you like it!

[@RHouseman]

Beautiful pictures

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you

[@shreecreativearts5132]

Beautiful video,so many species of birds that are too beautiful and colourful,thanks for taking us to Costa Rica.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you, it was an amazing place to visit.

[@stevepopple6621]

We stayed at Arenal and never saw the volcano. It rained the whole time, you had great views

[@RogerMacKertich]

Wow we were lucky! No rainfall and mostly clear days.

[@lynetteupchurch4382]

After this I am definitely going to plan a trip! Any suggestions?

[@RogerMacKertich]

Fantastic. We used Continga tours to book accomodation, transfers and some day tours for us, they were excellent - www.cotingatours.com

[@juliemackertich5173]

Another Great Video Roger. Loved watching it looking forward to the next Bird Hotspot video.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@SteveBarbusa]

Great video and awesome photos. Thank you for sharing your iterinary! This helps in planning my trip to Costa Rica. What month did you go for this trip?

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you. We went in November, just as the dry season was starting.

[@mauricio791000]

amazing !!!😍👏🏼

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you!!

[@HermanFu]

Wonderful photos and videos. Really enjoyed watching your work. I am leaving for Costa Rica in two weeks. I plan to bring a 200-600mm, and a Macro lens with me. Debating whether to take a tripod. Any recommendations? Would it be too bulky to carry it all the time? I saw in your video that people sitting in the boat during river tour didn't even have backpacks.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thanks for commenting! I didn't use a tripod once, there is just too much movement required and tripod would just get in the way. It is really only useful for those older really heavy lenses. Have a great time in Costa Rica.

[@birdman5223]

Wonderful content Roger☺️

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thanks ☺️

[@HermanFu]

Thanks very much for your reply. Will try my best to get good shots like yours. Cheers.

[@RogerMacKertich]

Best of luck!

[@scdawes]

great video with some wonderful photography , did you use any flash on the hummingbirds ? presume you did with the snakes , frogs and spiders at night or were they illuminated by torch ?

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you. No flash in any of my photos. High shutter speed for the hummingbirds, and we used torches for the night shots

[@kittycheung207]

Amazing video for sharing, you going four different places, do you need car rental at all or you have other transportation way go to each location. Thanks again. Looking forward for your next video.

[@RogerMacKertich]

We used transportation to get between places, once you are there you do not need a vehicle to explore

[@kittycheung207]

@@RogerMacKertich❤

[@kittycheung207]

What kind of transportation should we use ? Is bus/taxi/ Uber or ….. please advise. Thanks again Roger🙏🏻

[@RogerMacKertich]

@@kittycheung207we used private transfers to get between locations.

[@kittycheung207]

Thanks for your advice 🤗

[@luckynaturerelaxationin8k]

Which month ? Did you visit ? How many days?

[@RogerMacKertich]

We were there in early November, for 9 nights

[@soumakbinduwildlife]

Amazing photographs..which camera is used for the photography

[@RogerMacKertich]

Thank you. I used a Nikon Z9 with a 500mm lens

[@soumakbinduwildlife]

@@RogerMacKertich that's amazing

[@melanierutledge9546]

amazing photography can you recomend a camara bird viewing set up for a new photographer? is it necisary to have waterproof gear? (forgive my spelling)

[@RogerMacKertich]

Hi, thanks for watching or commenting. Really depends on your budget. For entry level I suggest Nikon, Canon or Sony cameras, then a lens like a 150-600 zoom.

[@melanierutledge9546]

thank you so much!@@RogerMacKertich